High school football: Goose Creek decision has ripple effect

GOOSE CREEK IS expelled again from the playoffs. It is an unfortunate thing for the players on that Gator team. I feel bad for coach Chuck Reedy, who is a friend of mine. I feel bad for the parents of the players.

I understand that the ineligible player in question was not an “impact” player and that he had no bearing on the games he played in. But I cannot accept the argument when some say, “Think about the other players on Goose Creek’s team that didn’t do anything.”

I cannot accept that without also thinking about the rest of the people who “didn’t do anything” who were impacted by this.

First, the players on Conway did nothing either, but they were impacted by having to face Goose Creek in their first game. The players on Bluffton did nothing wrong, but they, too, have been impacted by this.

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What about Fort Dorchester? If Goose Creek discovered it predicament earlier and forfeits those five games, Fort Dorchester is in the playoffs. Their kids didn’t do anything to deserve not going to the playoffs, either. What about Stratford? If Fort Dorchester gets into the playoffs, Stratford drops to the other Division II bracket instead of losing to Gaffney in the second round of the Division I bracket. Their kids didn’t do anything to be seeded incorrectly.

What about Boiling Springs, Spring Valley, Spartanburg, Ridge View, and Hillcrest? What about Dorman? They would have had Boiling Springs in round one instead of Stratford. Spring Valley would have travelled to Wando instead of having to face Byrnes in round one.

Spartanburg would have seen Byrnes in round one. Ridge View would have seen Summerville instead of their own Region champion Irmo, who had already seen the Blazers once. Hillcrest would have played Irmo instead of No. 2 seed Dutch Fork in round one.

What about the kids on all of these teams? They did nothing wrong either.

What about all of the kids on the teams in the Division II bracket? Every team and game would have been affected in that bracket by the No. 1 team being out and everyone moving up, and including Stratford among that group. None of the players on those 16 teams did anything wrong, either.

So, before you start to change your mind about this decision on the Goose Creek situation, remember, there are a lot more players affected by this situation than just the “rest of the Gator team” that didn’t do anything wrong. There are a lot of kids and coaches out there who did nothing wrong but have been impacted by this.

To the Gators and coach Reedy, my heart hurts for you in your situation. But it also hurts for the other kids around the state who also did nothing wrong.